The Secret of the Bristlecone Pine

The Bristlecone pine is among the most ancient living organisms in the world. Some of these trees began their lives before the pyramids were built. So what is the secret to the longevity of the Bristlecone pine and does this secret offer hope to us today?

The marathon mentality.

It's what you discover as you get older, according to Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com. He observes that when you're young, deferring gratification is not a common skill. But as you age, "you get better at the marathon mentality."
If this is true, Methuselah must have had the ultra-marathon mentality. After all, he lived a record 969 years, according to Genesis (5:27).

Still, the biblical Methuselah was a mere babe compared to the tree named after him, a bristlecone pine that is now more than 46 centuries old. The "Methuselah Tree," part of California's Inyo National Forest, was a seedling way back before the Egyptian Pyramids went up -- and it's still alive today.

What's its secret? Is it the marathon mentality? Or something else?

The conditions under which the Methuselah Tree has accomplished this extraordinary feat are surprising. At least they were to Robert Mohlenbrock.

A few years ago, this professor of botany visited the Ancient Bristlecone Pine...